1. Field of Invention
This invention relates generally to communication systems, and in particular, to a method of optimizing resource allocation in a communication system network.
2. Background
Satellite based networks are commonly used today. In atypical satellite network, plural satellites (also referred to as a payload terminal) communicate with various types of ground terminals. The satellite terminals (or ground terminals) are distributed in various geographical locations, which are covered by one of the various beams that the satellite network provides. Satellite payloads have on-board digital switching which enables re-directing of traffic from terminals to different beams and cross links geographically dispersed satellite constellations.
A payload terminal's resources are shared by plural ground terminals, connected to end-users. The ground terminals send flow requests corresponding to various applications, for example, voice, video, data, graphics and others. Typical ground terminals that compete for satellite resources include the Internet and other public, private, and/or government computer-based networks; wireless telecommunications such as cellular, Personal Communication Service (PCS), land-mobile, and the like; terrestrial and satellite direct broadcasts including traditional AM/FM bands, broadband, television, video, geo-location and navigation via a global position system (GPS), and the like.
Typically, ground terminals in the same beam control cannot be assigned the same time slot and frequency. If the ground terminals are assigned the same slot or frequency band, destructive interference arises, resulting in performance degradation. This problem is further enhanced when the demands presented by the ground terminals are based on quality of service (QOS) levels or priorities. The flow requests that originate from the ground terminal exhibit high variability and unpredictability. Each connection requires certain payload terminal's bandwidth, to guarantee the QOS expected by the ground terminals.
Requests for a payload terminal's resources from various ground terminals are subject to congestion caused by unpredictable statistical fluctuations of flow requests and traffic conditions when the offered load exceeds the payload capacity. Management of flow requests is important for successful operation of the satellite network. In the absence of effective flow request traffic management, flow request traffic from terminals can exceed the capacity of the network, resulting in dropped packets and frames which in turn translate into an overall degradation of communication network performance and loss of the end user's data.
Accordingly, there is a need for a method and system for optimizing the payload terminals and ground terminals resource allocations for flow request traffic in a satellite communication network in order to efficiently provide optimal service to the ground terminals.